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Looking for Alfred

In our second Hitchcock collection, we delve deeper to uncover the man behind the myth.

Continuing our contribution to the BFI’s major project for 2012, The Genius of Hitchcock, the Mediatheque delves deeper to uncover the man behind the myth. This new collection brings together an incisive selection of television documentaries (made both before and after Hitchcock’s death in 1980), together with home movies, on-set footage and interviews with the Master of Suspense himself.

Rarities include a 1964 edition of the BBC’s Monitor arts strand pairing Hitchcock with the programme’s editor Huw Wheldon, while the tables are turned in the Scottish TV documentary Hitchcock on Grierson (1965). Aside from giving an insight into Hitchcock’s disciplined approach to filmmaking, this collection introduces a man with a wicked sense of humour - larking about with Anny Ondra on the set of Blackmail, giving his young daughter Pat a piggy-back, and later demonstrating he hadn’t lost touch with his British roots in a wry address to film fans in far-off Essex.

Five to try

The Westcliff Cine Club Visits Mr. Hitchcock in Hollywood (1963)

One lucky film club gets a very special address all the way from Universal Studios. Hitchcock offers anecdotes about childhood holidays in Essex and conducts an impromptu tour around the set of Psycho.

Hitchcock at the NFT (1969)

The man himself pays a visit to the BFI and is filmed in conversation with fellow filmmaker Bryan Forbes for this BBC broadcast.

Frenzy Featurette (1971)

Rare footage taken on set at Pinewood and on location in Soho during production of Hitchcock’s first British film since Stage Fright (1950).

Reputations: Hitch (1999)

An array of friends and collaborators help chart Hitchcock’s five-decade filmmaking journey in this 2-part BBC profile, produced for his centenary. Includes scenes from the unrealised project Kaleidoscope-Frenzy.

Paul Merton Looks at Alfred Hitchcock (2009)

Paul Merton offers a fresh take on Hitchcock’s filmmaking career and style, stressing the importance of his work in Britain during the silent era.